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Category: Racing
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Rajini Krishnan bounces back, double for KY Ahamed
Chennai, 10 October 2021: Ace rider Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power Racing) came into his own to script a fine win while TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed completed a double as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2021 concluded at the MMRT, here on Sunday.
Rajini Krishnan, 41, diced with yesterday’s Race-1 winner Hyderabad’s Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing) and Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) before winning the thrilling battle in the premier Prostock 301-400cc category with less than a second covering the trio. The win, his fourth of the season from six starts, helped Rajini (118 points) to maintain his top position in the championship table with Rahil 17 points adrift.
Later, local challenger Ahamed kept his nerves to record his second win of the weekend with team-mate and defending champion Jagan Kumar delivering a 1-2 finish for TVS Racing while Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) was third. The result could have been different as early leader, Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) crashed heavily exiting the last corner in the fifth lap. The result notwithstanding, Jagan continues to head the points table with 126 points, followed by Ravikumar (85), Sethu (83) and Ahamed (77).
Rajini Krishnan leads the premier Prostock 301-400cc class (118 points) Photos Anand Philar One of the top rides of the day, however, was from Chennai collegian Alwin Sundar (AS Motorsports), who started P34 and won the Novice (Stock 165cc) race, his third of the season, as did Ryhana Bee (RACR Castrol Power Racing) in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category. Sundar is currently placed second in the championship in the Novice class with 103 points to leader Anfal Akdhar’s 113. Ryhana heads the Girls table with 75 points, well clear of Mumbai’s Jagruti Penkar of Sparks Racing (45).
Riding a Yamaha R3, Rajini Krishnan brought into play his vast experience to win a tight battle with Rahil Shetty, astride a KTM 390, as the two swapped leads over eight laps with third-placed Ravikumar in the mix.
The contest, at times, turned physical with Rajini and Rahil coming into contact, but both escaped any mishap. “It was a tough race. Rahil is extremely fast, like he was yesterday. I also had an eye on the championship points and didn’t want to make any mistakes like in the previous round when I crashed,” said Rajini.
KY Ahamed (No.33) powering his way to victory in the Prostock 165cc Open race (Oct 10) The Prostock 165cc Open race was full of suspense as to the eventual outcome, though TVS Racing appeared heading towards another podium sweep like on Saturday. The quartet of Ravikumar, Ahamed, Jagan Kumar and Rajiv Sethu was bunched tight at the front with the TVS trio leading by turns.
However, Ravikumar tragically crashed when the front tyre washed away and he was fortunate to fall outside the track on the grass allowing Ahamed, Jagan and Sethu, besides rest of the field to zip through.
The results (Provisional):
National Championship – Prostock 301-400cc Open (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power, Chennnai,) (15mins, 04.136secs); 2. Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing, Hyderabad) (15:04.561); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing, Chennai) (15:04.719).
Prostock 165cc Open (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (15:40.885); 2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (15:41.020); 3. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (15:41.146).
Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2 (6 laps): 1. Alwin Sundar (AS Motorsports, Chennai) (13:05.747); 2. Sarvesh Balappa (Sparks Racing, Hubballi) (13:06.309); 3. Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing, Thrissur) (13:06.342).
Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ryhana Bee (RACR Castrol Power Racing, Chennai) (10:53.801); 2. Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing, Chennai) (11:07.230); 3. Jagruti Penkar (Sparks Racing, Mumbai) (11:09.601).
One-Make Championship organised by MMSC:
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune) (14:46.889); 2. Kavin Quintal (Chennai) (14:53.056); 3. Mohsin Paramban (Malappuram) (15:02.291).
Honda Novice (CBR 150) Race-2 (6 laps): 1. Prakash Kamat (Bokar Steel City) (13:10.827); 2. Ikshan Shanbhag (Satara) (13:13.736); 3. Theopaul Leander (Chennai) (13:26.125).
Honda Hornet 2.0 (Race-2, 6 laps): 1. Ullas Santrupt Nanda (Chennai) (13:20.440); 2. Alwin Sundar (Chennai) (13:20.867); 3. Prabhu V (Chennai) (13:21.107).
TVS Open (Apache RR 310) Race-1 (6 laps): 1. Jagadeesh N (Bengaluru) (11:47.095); 2. Aditya Rao I (Bengaluru) (11:48.755); 3. Navaneeth Kumar S (Puducherry) (11:50.591). Race-2: 1. Jagadeesh N (11:46.122); 2. Venkat Prabhu (Chennai) (11:49.456); 3. Yashas RL (Bengauru) (11:49.969).
TVS Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race-2 (6 laps): 1. Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) (12:53.089); 2. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (Kolhapur) (12:53.628); 3. Vignesh Goud (Hyderabad) (12:53.660).
TVS Media (Apache RTR 200) (5 laps): 1. Soham Thakur (Mumbai) (11:37.219); 2. Manaal Mahatme (Mumbai) (11:47.104); 3. Ajinkya Lad (Mumbai) (12:04.009).
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Historic DTM silver for Arjun Maini
Nuremberg, 9 October 2021: Ace Indian racing star Arjun Maini of Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed won his maiden DTM podium with silver in the Saturday’s race. Thus, he became the first Indian on a DTM podium and accolades poured in for the Indian star, who embraced this form of motorsports at the beginning of the season by becoming the first Indian to take part in DTM series.
Watch the Video here, courtesy DTM.
Watch Arjun Maini’s short interview here, courtesy DTM.
The Omega Seiki and J.K.Tyre backed driver was justly rewarded for the pace he has shown throughout the season with the Indian managing to hold off a strong challenge from championship leader Liam Lawson towards the end of the race.
As expected going into the weekend, Maini was able to make full use of his prior knowledge of the Norisring race circuit from his Formula 3 days. The Indian finished second in Free Practice 2 before qualifying fourth for the weekend’s first race. While the Indian was overtaken by Mercedes stablemate Maximillian Gotz at the start, he managed to keep out of major trouble, despite banging wheels with Lawson and mildly damaging his front right suspension.
It took Arjun many laps to get used to the damage and yet retain a reasonable pace.
A cleanly executed pitstop from the GetSpeed racing team further aided the Indian’s effort, with Maini leapfrogging Lawson and settling in behind Gotz, a position he would go on to maintain for the remainder of the race.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the result,” a clearly jubilant Maini stated.
“We’ve worked so hard throughout the year and while our qualifying pace has been good, we’ve never been able to stitch together a clean race. Today was just one of those days where everything came together, our pace was good and GetSpeed executed a well-judged pitstop.
“We have one more race to go tomorrow so I won’t be celebrating too much, but I have to say it feels good to finally achieve my aim for the season.”
The result also marked GetSpeed’s first podium in the championship, the team made their DTM debut this season with Maini and the pair have performed admirably over the course of the season given their relative lack of experience.Earlier, in DTM Norisring powered by BWT, the ultimate showdown is imminent on Sunday. With his victory on Saturday, Maximilian Götz has made the three-way battle for the coveted DTM title even more thrilling. With the Mercedes-AMG run by the HRT team, the driver from Uffenheim scored his second win of the season. Points’ leader Liam Lawson secured third place with the Red Bull Ferrari behind Indian Arjun Maini with the GetSpeed Mercedes while Kelvin van der Linde finished fourth with the ABT Audi at the 2.3 kilometres long Norisring.
With this thrilling outcome of the race, Lawson, now leading with a total of 224 points, extended his margin to 18 points over Kelvin van der Linde (206), but Götz (205) reduced his gap to only one point to van der Linde and 19 to Lawson. In total, there are still 28 points up for grabs, three in qualifying and 25 in the deciding race on Sunday. Arjun Maini, who was plagued by mechanical failures and engine issues earlier, is 13th in the standings with 40 points.
Arjun Maini with his Silver at DTM Series on Saturday. Photo courtesy Twitter @ArjunMaini The Bengaluru-born Maini, began the week-end on a confident note posting a 49.842 sec in Free Practice on to finish 7th , just 0.256 second off the pace of P1, and put on a good 42 laps with only Esteban Muth putting more laps, and derived good data to set up the car. He did another 43 laps in Free Practice 2 and was the second quickest posting a time of 49.405, missing the top entry on the timesheets by just 0.030sec. He continued the good run improving the time below 49s but could only get a P4 on the start grid for the Saturday race as the top-8 were all in 1/100th of a second. Maini P4 is just 0.007off the pole man as he clocked 48.938. The Indian bagged 18 points to take his tally to a decent 40 points despite all the hiccups with the mechanical issues.
“What an incredible race! It’s a big day for @ArjunMaini, the first Indian on a DTM podium,” tweeted Mercedes AMG official handle with a hashtag #DTM2021″ and tagged Maini. “Thank you guys! The care was mega,” was the Indian star’s reply.
“Yes, we did it. P2. I am so happy to get my first podium in DTM (series) here in Norisring and also the first podium for India,” Maini said after the race and thanked all his supporters, his team Mercedes AMG and GetSpeed,for the car, on the Social Media. `”Raring to go for tomorrow’s race,” he quipped.
THE LONG WAIT IS OVER: Arjun Maini gets his first chance to spray champagne and celebrate at DTM Series on Saturday after winning a Silver.
The season’s final qualifying session and race can be streamed on AutoCar India’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/autocarindia1) with Qualifying flagging off at 1 pm IST with the race starting at 5 pm IST. -
Shahan Ali Mohsin stars as Teen Brigade storms MMRT
Chennai, 27 Sept, 2021: A host of teenagers stormed the `Racing Capital’ of India, the new-look Madras Motorsports Race Track owned by Madras Motor Sports Club. With the ‘`Golden Oldies’ from Coimbatore missing in action, a depleted Indian Touring Cars’ Class saw the burden fall on evergreen hero, Arjun Balu, who duly won the first race, but it was the Formula cars that stole the limelight during the first round at Irungattukottai, near here. Shahan Ali clocked the fastest lap of Round 1 as he became the ‘Driver of the Day’ on all three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. He is the only driver to clock a sub-1min 40sec time in the entire week-end, posting a 1:39.557 in the afternoon Practice Session on Friday despite hot track temparatures.
The track record for Formula cars stands in the name of Yuven Sundaramoorhty in a MRF2000 car as he clocked 1min 30.323sec. With the new FIA regulations Halo Cockpit Protection becomes mandatory and hence, the MRF Challenge 2020 is likely to be last race of the series. “The MRF Formula 2000 is a single seater formula car with 2.0 litre Mountune Engine engine having a Carbon chassis from Dallara, Italy. It is similar to F3 car in performance. Carbon chassis is tested to FIA F3 Safety standards.”
Whereas, the F1600s are much below the F2000s. “The MRF Formula 1600 is a single seater formula car having a Van Diemen designed chassis with a 1.6 litre Ford Duratec Engine. The chassis is a multi- tubular chromoly space frame, which is bronze braced and tig welded in the cockpit and foot well areas, says J Anand, the man behind the machine, and one of the fastest Indians on track in yesteryears.
Meanwhile, the Formula LGB 1300 saw a huge grid of 26 cars and the MRF Formula 1600 also left many aspirant disappointed as there were only 12 cars ready to race. Even then, there was stiff competition among the ‘Teen Brigade’` with Shahan Ali Mohsin taking overall honours. The 17-year Agra talent clocked some fastest laps in Round 1 on the 3.717-km clock-wise tarmac to emerge with a brace. Bengaluru driver Ruhaan Alva, who won the X30 Karting Senior Nationals recently, made his debut in the National Racing Championship, lost a hard-fought “win” as he logged a penalty in the Formula LGB 1300 Race 1, but bagged the Rookie driver award.
Chirag Ghorpade, another Bengalurean, Coimbatore’s Suriya Varathan, Chennai’s Ahwin Datta, Rajiv Rishon, Amir Sayed, Mohit Aryan, Tijil Rao, Kolkata’s Arya Singh, local lad Dhillon Zachariah (debut podium) and Andhra’s Chetan Surineni all in their teens, are the other youngsters who caught the eye during the weekend. The 1300s too saw many newcomers from Kerala, Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Jaden R Pariat from Guwahati, the vice-champion of X30 Junior Karting Nationals too impressed with some quick laps in FLGB1300.
Many of the drivers were coming after a long lay-off due to the COVID-19 pandemic which halted racing in all of India and also parts of the world for the last year. The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship returned for the 2021 season, with Madras Motor Race Track sporting a new 500-seat grand stand.
Shahan Ali Mohsin gets a double in the MRF F1600 races at the MMRT on Sunday. Photo by Shameem Fahath Having made his debut in the MRF F1600 championship back in 2019 as a 14-year-old racer, Shahan holds the record of being the youngest to compete in the history of the series, Shahan returned to racing action, now as a 17-year-old in the famed Indian single-seater championship, ably organised by the dedicated team of the Madras Motor Sports Club.
Shahan started off the weekend in style by topping both the practice sessions in the field of 12 cars, setting a time of 1m40.396s in the first Free Practice (FP1) and 1m40.673s in FP2 in his #11 machine. He followed it up, securing his maiden pole for Race 1, clocking a 1m 40.148s lap, his best of the weekend.
He ended up second taking the second best time of the session, only beaten by 0.064s margin. The Race 1 was not ideal for Shahan where a clutch overheat resulted in a jump start and eventual positions drop. A drive-through penalty further hampered his race as he finished seventh eventually.
This helped him to a second-place start in Race 2 where Top-8 from Race 1 were set-up in reverse order. It was a clean start this time and he got into the lead on Lap 1 itself. It was then a straightforward race to secure his maiden victory in single-seater competition by over four seconds, that is over half the straight.
He made the double in Race 3, where he started on the front-row in P2, and secured the race lead on Lap 1 itself. This time he had over seven seconds gap, a lead of over 200metres, to the second-placed runner to round off a solid first weekend in the MRF F1600 Championship, where he was racing after a year’s gap.
“Having been away from racing for so long due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it felt like first-time racing when the weekend kicked-off,” reflected Shahan. “The adrenaline rush you get is next level and this was certainly missing. It is definitely good to be back amid increased safety measures as the pandemic is still ongoing.
“Looking at the weekend, it was a good run and I felt comfortable from the start itself. Except for Race 1 where my clutch got overheated and I lost places in the start, it was, as I said, a fantastic race weekend for me. Being fast from free practice sessions to securing my first single-seater pole and also taking two wins from threeraces in the field of 12 racers was amazing. I hope to carry on with this momentum in the coming rounds too.”
A big thank you to the Almighty. Photo by Shajahan. All other photos by Shameem Fahath Top 3 after Race 3 Race 2 podium After a double… Leading the bunch…
Shahan in jubilant mood after winning two MRF F1600 races after initial clutch hiccups! -
76 in fray for MRF MMSC Indian Car Racing Nationals
Irungattukottai (near Chennai, 23 Sept 2021: High on excitement and expectations, the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2021 commences on Saturday, September 25, at the MMRT behind closed doors due to Covid-19 safety restrictions with a card of nine races and 76 competitors in the fray.
Returning to the championship after a season’s break due to the pandemic is MRF Formula1600 class which will headline the two-day programme with a 12-car grid, followed by the ever-popular saloon cars in three categories – the top-end Indian Touring Cars, Indian Junior Touring Cars and Super Stock. Also in the mix is the Formula LGB 1300 which boasts of a huge grid of 25 cars.
Volkswagen will run their one-make championship with a grid of 22 VW Polo cars, all kitted with 1.8-litre turbo engine putting out 235 bhp and a six-speed gear box operated by paddle-shift levers besides the push-to-pass mechanism which is a first in Indian racing. Lining up on the grid are four racers from Bangladesh and a lone female entry in Diana Pundole, a mother of two, from Pune.
Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok said: “Given the situation and the challenges we all faced and still dealing with due to the pandemic, the positive response to the four-wheeler championship has been overwhelming. Formula LGB 1300, for instance, has a grid of 25 cars and 22 in the Volkswagen Polo championship. We also welcome MRF F1600 back in our midst after missing the 2020 season due to the pandemic. Lest we forget, the saloon cars, with a combined grid of 17, will certainly mark their presence. Equally laudable is that our title sponsors MRF are providing slick tyres. So, with better grip, we can expect close and exciting races this weekend.”
The field for the JA Motorsport-prepared MRF F1600 includes a few experienced drivers like Ashwin Datta, Deepak Ravikumar and Nikanth Ram among others. The cars have been completely overhauled and readied for this weekend’s triple-header.
In the saloon car category, Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu, driving a Race Concepts-prepared Honda City VTec, is looking forward to defending his National title in the Indian Touring Cars class that also has two VW entrants in Anindith Reddy and 2019 VW Ameo Cup winner Jeet Jhabakh, both from Hyderabad, and driving 1.8 Litre turbo-charged Polo.
The IJTC also returns to the championship after missing out two seasons, while the Super Stock, among the most competitive, is expected to dish out close battles as in the previous years.
In the Formula LGB 1300 category, an incentive by way of a Rookie Cup for the highest placed first-timer in each of the races, is on offer.
About Madras Motor Sports Club
Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved its racing activities from Sholavaram to its present location, the MMRT circuit in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. Parallelly, MMSC imported timing equipment specifically for Drag racing. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. MMSC also constructed a 500-capacity grand stand with provision for garages / storage below. In another upgrade, the MMSC purchased Digi flags from TAG Heuer Chronelec that will be positioned strategically around the track. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.
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Arjun Maini raring to go at Assen: DTM Series
Assen (The Netherlands), 17 Sept. 2021: Mercedes-AMG DTM star Arjun Maini is set to take part in the sixth round of the DTM championship at the Assen race track in Holland.
The Omega Seiki and J.K.Tyre backed driver has had a renaissance of sorts with the Indian turning a torrid run of luck into consistent points finishes over the course of the past two rounds. Coming off his best ever weekend in Germany’s premier racing series, with a sixth and seventh-place finish in Austria marking his best-ever return in the DTM Championship, Maini is filled with confidence as he looks to climb up the championship ladder.
The Assen race circuit will represent a unique challenge to the Indian as he has never raced competitively on the track.“While I haven’t raced competitively at the Assen race circuit, I do have testing experience at the track,” Maini stated.
“The last two weekends have been positive in terms of overall results and I’m confident about my chances heading into the weekend. It’s important to note that this is GetSpeed’s first year racing in DTM too, which means we don’t have too much data to draw from heading into the weekend.
“That being said, we have worked tirelessly to address our lack of experience at certain race circuits and I think we have made good progress through the season especially after hitting our nadir at Zolder.”
Having secured consecutive points finishes for the first time, Maini’s next objective will be a podium finish. While the competitive nature of the DTM championship makes this a lofty goal, the Indian’s consistent improvement and raw pace over the course of the season provides cause for hope, especially if his race strategy is executed to perfection.
The sessions can be watched on https://www.youtube.com/user/autocarindia1, with Race 1 taking place on September 18, and Race two flagging off on September 19. -
Anish Shetty, Deepak Ravikumar post maiden wins
Chennai, 12 Sept 2021: Bengaluru-based Anish Damodara Shetty (Race Concepts) pulled off a well-deserved win, if a bit fortuitous, his first of the season in the premier Prostock 301-400cc category as the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2021 concluded at the MMRT, here on Sunday.
Also scoring his maiden win of the 2021 season was Deepak Ravikumar who led a 1-2 finish for TVS Racing with championship leader Jagan Kumar in tow ahead of Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing’s Senthil Kumar. The lead Honda rider, Rajiv Sethu, who was eyeing a possible win, crashed after making contact with Senthil in the last lap and eventually finished a distant ninth which fetched him one point.
Earlier, Chennai’s Ryhana Bee (RACR) and Thrissur lad Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing) won in the Girls and Novice (Stock 165cc) categories, respectively.
The Prostock 301-400cc race was action-packed. With several front-runners, including championship leader Rajini Krishnan (RACR) crashing out in the latter part of the eight-lap race, the door was open for Anish Shetty, astride a KTM RC390, to seize the opportunity to win from TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed, the defending champion, and Hyderabad’s Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing).
Rajini, winner of three consecutive races, crashed at the last corner on the sixth lap soon after surviving a contact on the back sweep with TVS Racing’s Deepak Ravikumar whose challenge thus ended.
Despite the poor result, Rajini continues to occupy the top spot in the championship stakes with 75 points while Anish Shetty (63) moved to second position, followed by Rahil Shetty (58).
The expected TVS vs Honda battle in the Prostock 165cc race flickered for a while with Jagan, Rajiv and Ravikumar swapping lead. The trio was bunched close together with Senthil lurking in their shadow. With a couple of the eight laps left, Ravikumar forged ahead while behind him, Rajiv and Senthil tangled which took out the former, leaving Jagan to snatch P2 while Senthil completed the podium.
The result still left Jagan in the championship lead with a tally of 93 points, well clear of Ravikumar (67) and Rajiv Sethu (56).
Earlier, Ryhana Bee chalked up her second consecutive win in the Girls category, while pushing front-runner Lani Zena Fernandez (Speed Up Racing) from Puducherry to second place. Mumbai’s Jagruthi Penkar (Sparks Racing) completed the podium. Defending champion Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing), who had won all four races last season, crashed again as she did in last month’s first round and is still to open her account.
Meanwhile, Chennai riders Kavin Quintal (NSF 250R) and Kevin Kannan (Hornet 2.0) notched their fourth straight win while Bokaro Steel City’s Prakash Kamath (Honda CBR 150) achieved a double in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup One-make Championship organised by the MMSC.
Kolhapur’s 12-year old Jinendra Kiran Sangave also recorded his fourth consecutive win in the TVS Rookie category.
The results (Provisional – all 6 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship:
Prostock 301-400cc (Race-2 – 8 laps): 1. Anish Damodara Shetty (Race Concepts, Bengaluru) (15mins, 09.769secs); 2. Ahmed KY (TVS Racing, Chennai) (15:10.171); 3. Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing, Hyderabad) (15:10.310).
Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing, Chennai) (15:51.435); 2. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing, Chennai) (15:51.828); 3. Senthil Kumar (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (16:10.248, incl 15-sec penalty for jump start).
Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2: 1. Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing, Thrissur) (13:01.182); 2. Alwin Sundar (AS Motorsports, Chennai) (13:01.218); 3. Anfal Akdhar (Rockstar Racing, Thrissur) (13:03.516).
Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1. Ryhana Bee (RACR, Chennai) (10:58.929); 2. Lani Zena Fernandez (Speed Up Racing, Puducherry) (11:01.217); 3. Jagruti Penkar (Sparks Racing, Mumbai) (11:18.622).
One-Make Championship organized by Madras Motor Sports Club:
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Kavin Quintal (Chennai) (14:52.563); 2. Sarthak Chavan (Pune) (15:01.558); 3. Geoffrey Reviven Emmanuel (Chennai) (15:08.141).
CBR 150 (Race-2): 1. Prakash Kamath (Bokaro Steel City) (13:15.766); 2. Johann Reeves Emmanuel (Chennai) (13:28.042); 3. Theopaul Leander (Chennai) (13:28.204).
Hornet 2.0 (Race-2): 1. Kevin Kannan (Chennai) (13:28.694); 2. Balaji G (Chennai) (13:29.169); 3. Alwin Sundar (Chennai) (13:29.435).
TVS Apache Open (RR310, Race-2): 1. Amarnath Menon (Calicut) (11:51.317); 2. Navaneeth Kumar (Puducherry) (11:51.778); 3. KK Anandhu (Chennai) (11:52.872).
Rookie (RTR 200, Race-2): 1. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (Kolhapur) (12:56.019); 2. Vignesh Gowd (Hyderabad) (13:02.618); 3. Jagathishree (Chennai) (13:02.922).
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Daruvala dominates in Monza for first win of the season
Monza, 11 Sept 2021: Carlin team’s Indian ace Jehan Daruvala put on a controlled performance in the second Sprint Race at Monza to claim his first victory of the season, ahead of Trident rookie Bent Viscaal and PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman, who took his fourth podium of the year in the FIA Formula 2 Championship here on Saturday.
India’s fantastic run in International sport continued with Jehan Daruvala who started started second, and completely dominated the field from lap 1 to win by a massive margin.
“Hearing the National Anthem Jana Gana Mana… on the top step of Monza podium feels really special. Big thanks to my team Carlin Racing for the Mega car,” he said after the race in a statement received by INDIAinF1. “Winning at Monza is every racer’s dream. I had qualified well and knew I had the pace to win. Getting ahead of David at the start and then breaking the tow were critical moments in the race. A big thank you to Carlin for the great car. I’m looking forward to the feature race tomorrow,’ an elated Jehan, added.
The Red Bull Racing Junior, started on the front row at the ‘Temple of Speed’ behind German racer David Beckman. As the lights went out, Jehan had ru.an excellent start. He braked really late to make an excellent move into the first corner.
An incident behind resulted in a Virtual Safety Car situation. The moment racing resumed, Jehan put his head down and drove a clean consistent race. The first few laps had Beckman within DRS range, but Jehan kept his cool and slowly inched away, opening a 1 second margin. Once Beckman was out of DRS range, Jehan steadily increased his lead every lap.
Three laps before the finish, Jehan had already opened a comfortable 5 second margin. Beckman under pressure fell down to third while Dutchman, Bent Viscaal moved into second. Soon former F3 Champion, Robert Shwartzman from Russia also overtook the German.
Jehan Daruvala makes sure that the Indian National Anthem
is played at the FIA F2 Championship in Monza on Saturday.Jehan’s dominance meant he won the race by over six seconds, ahead of Viscaal and Shwartzman. This was Jehan’s third podium of the season and second Formula 2 victory after he became the first-ever Indian to win a Formula 2 race last year at the Sakhir Grand Prix weekend.
Jehan’s fantastic performance in qualifying saw him qualify second, just 0.04 seconds shy of pole. He will start the Feature Race tomorrow in second position, where all racers need to complete a mandatory pit stop. The race will be telecast live on Eurosport at 2pm Sunday afternoon.
Leader Piastri finishes 7th: Given the chaos of the opener, the second Sprint Race was surprisingly peaceful, with Daruvala crossing the line 6.1s in front of Viscaal, who scored a maiden Formula 2 podium. Earlier in the first Sprint race, Daruvala finished 9th after starting from P2.
Shwartzman was a late entrant into the top three after reverse polesitter David Beckmann locked up late in the race and fell from second to fifth, behind Liam Lawson.
Championship rivals Oscar Piastri and Guanyu Zhou finished one behind the other in seventh and eighth, while Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips was ahead of them in sixth.
AS IT HAPPENED
Jehan Daruvala celebrates on the podium. Photo by James Gasperotti Lining up from pole for the second race in succession, Beckmann endured an almost identical start, but this time it was the Carlin of Daruvala who got the jump on him, launching off the line and down the inside into Turn 1 to take first.
After a great getaway, Viscaal was up one place to third, ahead of Vips, but Sprint Race 1 hero Christian Lundgaard had been spun around and dumped at the back of the field.
There was a sense of déjà vu in the battle for seventh, as 2020 Formula 3 title rivals Théo Pourchaire and Piastri started to tussle. The Frenchman had already passed Zhou and was trying to muscle his way ahead of Piastri too, eventually making the move stick after several corners of toing and froing.
A Virtual Safety Car meant that Piastri was unable to reply, as HWA RACELAB teammates Jake Hughes and Alessio Deledda collided, leaving the Briton’s car stuck in the wall. Guilherme Samaia had also pulled his Charouz Racing System to a stop at the pit entrance.
After momentarily losing fifth to Lawson, Shwartzman recovered to not only reclaim P5 but to snatch fourth from Vips as well, who then fell a place further behind his Hitech teammate.
Piastri set the fastest lap on his way to regaining seventh from Pourchaire, with the ART wobbling ever-so-slightly wide and plunging into the clutches of Zhou, but the Virtuosi racer opted against an initial move and decided to remain patient.
Piastri was allowed to scamper off up the road as Pourchaire switched his attention to defending P8, but the Sprint Race 1 winner missed the chicane and had to go through the escape road, returning in ninth, out of the points.
Daruvala was looking untroubled out in front, but Beckmann and Viscaal were still battling for P2, six seconds further back. The Campos locked up at Turn 1 and had to take the escape road. Returning in third, he attempted to retake second but appeared to have re-joined the track unsafely, which the Stewards duly noted.
Viscaal brushed off the challenge and darted off into the distance, as first Shwartzman, and then Lawson, both jumped Beckmann and dropped him to fifth ahead of the chequered flag. Vips held onto sixth in front of Piastri and Zhou.
“I think that a win was long overdue this season, so I am very happy. This weekend has been good so far, I’ve been consistently quick. I think we deserved the win, hopefully, I can repeat it tomorrow.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP VIEW
Piastri leads the Drivers’ title fight on 124 points, ahead of Zhou on 116 and Shwartzman on 105. Vips is fourth with 90 and Dan TIcktum is fifth with 89.
In the Teams’ title fight, PREMA are first with 229 points, in front of UNI-Virtuosi on 175 and Hitech on 162. Carlin are fourth with 160 and ART fifth with 120.
WHAT’S NEXT?
After securing a second successive pole on Friday afternoon, Piastri will look to extend his Championship lead in the Feature Race. The PREMA will line up ahead of Daruvala and Zhou when the action begins on Sunday at 1.45 pm IST (10.25am (local race time Monza).
Action from FIA Formula 2 – Monza, Italy – Feature Race will be LIVE on EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD from 01:45 pm (in India) onwards on Sunday, 12th September, 2021. Eurosport channel can now be streamed on the discovery+ app.
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Third win for Rajini Krishnan, Jagan Kumar
Chennai, 11 Sept 2021: Veterans Rajini Krishnan (RACR) and Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) posted brilliant but contrasting victories in their respective categories to light up the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT, here on Saturday.
Rajini, 41, stamped his authority and class while winning the race in the premier Prostock 301-400cc category after starting from P6 while Jagan Kumar, 31, exchanged leads with arch-rival and pole-sitter Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) before clinching the cliff-hanger with a last-lap overtake as the two crossed the finish line with little separating them. Both Rajini and Jagan thus notched their third consecutive wins in the championship having scored a double apiece in Round-1 last month.
Also scoring maximum points was 20-year old from Thrissur, Anfal Akdhar (Rockstar Racing) in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category.
Rajini, 41, rode his Yamaha R3 with craft and guile that reflected his vast experience as he bided his time after starting from P6 before making a decisive move, to move to the front of the pack and stayed there with ease. The local star, who had won both the races in Round-1 last month, was confident personified to finish ahead of Rockers Racing’s Soorya PM from Chennai, who could not defend his pole position, and Hyderabad’s Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing).
Prakash Kamath of Bokaro Steel City celebrates after his CBR150 victory on Saturday. “At the start, I avoided getting caught up in the bunch, but gradually, I made my through the field,” said Rajini after the six-lapper.
Later, Jagan and Sethu battled hard but fair. Starting from pole position, Sethu yielded ground to Jagan but midway through the six-lapper, the Honda ace regained the lead to set up a last-lap humdinger. The pair took the last corner of the last lap in tandem and raced side-by-side to the finish line where Jagan just about got his nose in front for a thrilling win as Sethu, for the third race in a row finished second. Behind the pair, KY Ahamed finished third after close fight with his TVS Racing team-mate Deepak Ravikumar who ran wide entering the home straight on the last lap.
Earlier, starting the six-lap race from P3 on the 38-bike grid, Anfal Akdhar had to fight hard for his victory as he received close attention from pole-sitter Allwin Sundar (AS Motorsports) and Alwin Xavier (Sparks Racing), also from Thrissur. Sundar, winner of both races in Round-1 last month, eventually fell out of contention due to some issues with his bike, leaving Akdhar and Xavier to fight for the top honours. Akdhar managed to keep his wheel in front as he crossed the finish line just ahead of Xavier.
The One-Make Championships organized by MMSC also witnessed dominating rides. In the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, Kavin Quintal (NSF 250R) and Kevin Kannan (Honda Hornet 2.0) posted their third victory apiece.
Jinendra Kiran Sangave, the 12-year old from Kolhapur (TVS Rookie) won the Rookie RTR 200 Race 1 clocking 12:48.856 for a comfortable victory as he was streets ahead of the fied. Chiranth V of Bengaluru time 13:04.132 to put compatriot Shreyas Copparam Hareesh at bay and managed a narrow second with Shreyas, the baby of the grid, clocking 13:04.992 for the third.
Jinendra Kiran Sangave, a 7th class, Kolhapur government school student, posed for medea after his win on Saturday at MMRT. In the Girls’ RTR Race 1 over five laps, it was a battle between Youth and and Experience and the Chennai school girl Rakshitha Dave maintained her unbeaten run clocking 11:15.447 for another win even as Renuka Gajendran (Bengaluru), an Aviation specialist currently with Infosys took second on the podium with Zigna Pamnani (Kalyan) in third place.
In the CBR150 class Race 1, Prakash Kamath from Bokaro Steel city clocked 3:14.859 to beat Shubankar Joshi of Pune (13:23.925) and Johann local rider Reeves Emmanuel (13:27.157) came third.
Rakshitha Dave The results (Provisional – all 6 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship:
Prostock 301-400cc (Race-1): 1. Rajini Krishnan (RACR, Chennai) (11mins, 21.868secs); 2. Soorya PM (Rockers Racing, Chennai) (11:23.279); 3. Rahil Shetty (Gusto Racing, Hyderabad) (11:23.414).
Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-1): 1. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing, Chennai) (11:46.731); 2. Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu Honda SK69 Racing) (11:46.778); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (11:47.691).
Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-1: 1. Anfal Akdhar (Rockstar Racing, Thrissur) (13:05.852); 2. Allwin Xavier (Sparks Racing, Thrissur) (13:05.980); 3. Sarvesh Balappa (Sparks Racing, Hubballi) (13:17.967).
One-Make Championship organized by Madras Motor Sports Club:
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R (Race-1): 1. Kavin Quintal (Chennai) (11:08.113); 2. Mohsin Peramban (Valanchery) (11:22.860); 3. Sarthak Chavan (Pune) (11:22.959 – incl 10-sec penalty for jump start).
CBR 150 (Race-1): 1. Prakash Kamath (Bokaro Steel city) (13:14.859); 2. Shubankar Joshi (Pune) (13:23.925); 3. Johann Reeves Emmanuel (Chennai) (13:27.157).
Hornet 2.0 (Race-1): 1. Kevin Kannan (Chennai) (13:26.735); 2. Alwin Sundar (Chennai) (13:35.033); 3. Rajkumar C (Coimbatore) (13:35.134).
TVS Apache Open (RR310, Race-1): 1. Navaneeth Kumar (Puducherry) (11:49.658); 2. Amarnath Menon (Calicut) (11:50.606); 3. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (11:50.729).
Rookie (RTR 200, Race-1): 1. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (Kolhapur) (12:48.856); 2. Chiranth V (Bengaluru) (13:04.132); 3. Shreyas Copparam Hareesh (Bengaluru) (13:04.992).
Girls (RTR 200, Race-1, 5 laps): 1. Rakshitha Dave (Chennai) (11:15.447); 2. Renuka Gajendran (Bengaluru) (11:30.442); 3. Zigna Pamnani (Kalyan) (11:39.959).
Photo courtesy Anand Philar @Facebook Rahil Pillari Shetty Photo courtesy Anand Philar @Facebook Jagan Kumar Photo courtesy Anand Philar @Facebook Champ Rajinikrishnan Photo courtesy Anand Philar @Facebook
Are you a rider or a driver? Want your profile in this website contact editor at 98455 69496 About Madras Motor Sports Club
Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved its racing activities from Sholavaram to its present location, the MMRT circuit in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. Parallelly, MMSC imported timing equipment specifically for Drag racing. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. MMSC also constructed a 500-capacity grand stand with provision for garages / storage below. In another upgrade, the MMSC purchased Digi flags from TAG Heuer Chronolec that will be positioned strategically around the track. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.
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Kavin Quintal emerges as fastest rider on Friday
Irungattukottai (Kanchipuram District, TN), 10 Sept. 2021: Talented teen racer Kavin Samaar Quintal emerged as the fastest rider of the day on the opening day of the Round 2 of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship which began at the Madras Motor Race Track here on Friday.
Coached by Tadayuki Okada san, the 16-year Kavin, astride a Honda NSF250R, the best bike on the day with a racing pedigree, blazed the MMSC track with ease and grace to notch up the quickest lap of the day, 1min, 50.085sec in the 30-minute practice session on the 3.717-km tarmac that saw temperatures of over 30 degree centigrade on a “not-so-hot day”, about 70-km from Chennai here.
Another talented teen, Sartak Chavan from Pune did his best lap in 1:50.700, about half a second behind Kavin’s second-best time of 1:51.079. Geoffrey Revival Emmanuel of Chennai was the third quickest clocking 1:52.809 in a grid of 12 riders who were selected for this One-Make Championship by Honda India.
Kavin Quintal, fastest rider of the day on Friday. Photo David Bodapati In the first round held on August 22, Kavin won the Race 2 with a best lap of 1min 49.793sec followed by Sartak (best lap 1:50.595) in second place and Bengaluru’s Samuel Martin took third on the podium (Best lap 1:52.177). Earlier he also won Race 1, and made it a double for the Round 1 week-end.
Promoted and organised by Madras Motor Sports Club, at MMRT, the best active facility in India for riders and drivers, the National Championship saw top riders like Rajini Krishnan, Rajiv Sethu, Jagan and other young and veteran riders, including a bevy of woman riders take part under strict COVID19 restrictions and the new-look Grand Stand which gave the appearance of a Big Sporting Facility for the laymen on the Highway for the first time, was dotted with colourful chairs begging for guests to be seated, but alas that has to wait till the pandemic is tamed.
Blissfully cool and calm, the 11th Class student of Sir Matha School in Chennai said: “I was testing old tyres and suspension. I had fun today and I thank my team for giving a good bike,” before rushing to watch and cheer the rookies taking part in the CBR150 Novice class.
NSF250R is a racing machine for the new era. Powered by 4-stroke engine with 249cc displacement specially designed for racing, it’s light, compact, high output and high in performance. It is a perfect bike to provide integration of high power and rider-friendliness.
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Stunning lap by Indian ace Jehan Daruvala gets him P2; misses pole by 0.041sec
Monza (Italy), 10 Sept 2021: A stunning lap by ace Indian racer Jehan Daruvala could get him only P2 as he missed the pole by a whisker, the closest margin this season as Championship leader Oscar Piastri became the first repeat polesitter of the season in Monza, finishing first in Qualifying for the second round in a row to add four more points to his title advantage. His main rival, Guanyu Zhou, was only 0.051s off pole but had to settle for third with Jehan Daruvala claiming his first front-row start of the season, missing out on pole by just 0.041s in the FIA Formula 2 Championship held along with Formula 1 World Championship at the famed track here on Friday.
The Mumbai-born Indian potential for F1 said: :It is an amazing car, thanks to Carlin Racing. It is also one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season so far. P2 it is and a front row start for the Feature Race on Sunday. I am really happy with my lap.”
Théo Pourchaire led the field out onto the Monza tarmac, hoping to make the most of the clean air, but the Frenchman was down in 10th after the first lot of runs, despite a positive Sector 1.
It was Ralph Boschung, from the back of the pack, who slotted into first place at the end of that run, the Swiss driver punching in 1:32.609 to put his Campos at the front.
Championship leader Piastri – who was on pole last time out at Silverstone – found his bearings on the next tour, stealing first from Boschung by two tenths. Meanwhile, Free Practice’s fastest man, Dan Ticktum, had taken third.
After losing the Championship lead to Piastri in Silverstone, Zhou needed a big weekend in Italy, but the UNI-Virtuosi racer was lagging behind in P8 with 12 minutes to go. Heading to the pits for a fresh pair of Pirellis, Zhou managed to improve five places to third when he returned, but was still unable to challenge his main rival in P1.
Enough life remained in his tyres for a final attempt with two minutes to go and this time, Zhou did manage to beat Piastri. However, the Australian was just a few places further back in a slipstream fuelled train and managed to beat him by 0.051s, retaking his position at the top of the timesheet.
Daruvala benefitted from a slipstream himself to dive into second place and bump Zhou down to third, by a mere 0.016s. Only 0.202s separated the top five, with Liam Lawson in fourth and Felipe Drugovich fifth. Meanwhile, Boschung equalled his best Qualifying result at this level with sixth, ahead of Pourchaire and Ticktum.
Finishing 10th overall, David Beckmann will start ahead of Jüri Vips in Saturday’s reverse grid Sprint Race 1, which takes place at 8.50am local time.
